CAD Manager's Newsletter #120

New Year's Resolutions 2005: Follow my plan of action to develop a more productive CAD staff

Follow my plan of action to develop a more productive CAD staff

Welcome to the first edition of the CAD Manager's Newsletter for
2005. I'll begin the year by laying out a proactive course of
action for CAD managers based on my 2005 forecast in the
January issue of Cadalyst magazine. You can always find the current
issue's contents at http://new.cadalyst.com/currentissue. Because it's early in the New
Year, I'll build a list of resolutions that should serve most
corporate CAD managers well.

These resolutions are based on two core principles I believe will
guide the business environment this year.

One: Business conditions will improve, yet companies will want to
keep staffing levels constant. Therefore, CAD managers will need to
do everything they can to make their staffs more efficient.

Two: CAD software will make modest, evolutionary advances that will
force CAD managers to evaluate new software on productivity metrics
rather than sweeping technology changes.

Even if you aren't totally constrained by pressure to keep staffing the same this year, your management will appreciate your taking
decisive action to support a more efficient workplace. So here are my
suggested resolutions for the New Year, in no particular order.

1. Know the Problems
What do your CAD users need to be more productive? What sorts of
utilities, file management tools and network improvements can you
implement to make CAD work flow more smoothly? Which training topics
will your users really benefit from? What frustrates your users?

By asking these sorts of questions, you'll quickly tune in to the real
problems that confront your CAD users. You may be surprised to find
that a nifty new release of software is much lower on users'
lists than you think. By constantly asking yourself questions from a
CAD user's perspective, you'll become more proactive about solving
the problems that really irritate your staff.

As you strive to identify and understand your users' problems, be
sure to keep an open mind and actually listen to the core complaint.
Frequently we dismiss user gripes, thinking those users don't
understand the technology or the budget limitations we must deal
with. Rather than dismissing user complaints, always strive
to understand the root cause of the complaint and devise ways to
attack the problem within the confines of your authority. This is
easier to say than do, but it is essential!

2. Prioritize the Problems
Now that your users have told you their problems, it becomes your job
to solve them to the best of your ability. The first step is to
prioritize the list of problems and resolve to tackle them in order.
I suggest the following methodology for prioritization.

First: List the problems in order of user irritation rather than by
technical complexity. Sometimes the most irritating problems can be easy to fix using some CAD management elbow grease.

Second: Resort your prioritized list in order of how quickly you can
fix the problems. In this pass, be realistic about which
problems you can solve without major capital spending or budgeting.

You should now have a list of problems that starts with the most
irritating problem you can most quickly solve. Now you know what to
work on.

3. Go for Quick Success
Now resolve to work through your problem list in order so you can demonstrate
to your users and your management that you're making progress.
Because you've sorted your list according to irritation, you'll earn
great favor as you quickly solve nagging problems. The good will
you gain from your users will make them more likely to support
your future work, while your management will notice that you're
getting a lot done without spending a lot of money.

I've found this methodology to be effective in all types of
companies, but particularly so in companies that are technology
averse or have low technology budgets. By making positive changes on
a shoestring, you build confidence and might actually find more
budget money coming your way. Try it — it does work.

4. Watch Software Progress
Obviously the CAD manager is the person best suited to evaluate new
CAD software. For 2005, why not resolve to keep track of software
progress as it happens rather than waiting for new software to be
released? All too often we get blindsided by new software after its
release and have to answer questions from users or management. By
remaining proactive and reading as much as you can at vendor Web
sites and blogs, you should be able to stay in front of new software
releases. Here's a brief strategy that should help you stay in front
of the technology curve.

Read everything you can from your software manufacturers' Web
sites.

Pay attention to stock values of your software companies, as stock
values frequently reflect good or bad trends in the market. After
all, if your software company is having financial troubles, it may
not be in a good competitive position in upcoming years.

Subscribe to industry newsletters (like this one) that provide
information on software trends.

Work with your reseller to schedule advance demonstrations or
product briefings so you'll know what's coming.

Attend user group meetings in your area so you can talk with your
CAD manager peers about how they see new products shaping up.

Obviously this isn't rocket science, but rather good common sense. If
you just keep on top of things daily, the task of evaluating software
becomes much easier. Resolve to monitor the market constantly rather
than when new software is released.

5. Match Software to Needs
You now know what new features will be heading your way in new
software releases, so you should have a good idea about how the new
software may solve any problems you have. If new software looks
promising, you'll want to benchmark the product and prepare your
management for the idea that new software may be warranted in the near
future. You'll also find that your budget will be much easier to
forecast as you match new software to your company's needs.

Wrapping Up
Now that you've seen my suggested New Year's resolutions, why not
resolve to make your own list? As you build your list, be sure to
write down your ideas (before you forget anything) and discuss your
New Year's plan of action with your senior management team. I think
you'll find that when you plan ahead and work to obtain management
approval early in the year, you'll accomplish more with far less
frustration.

I encourage you to share your resolutions with other readers by
e-mailing me at rgreen@greenconsulitng.com. In the next edition of
this newsletter, I'll share any particularly good resolutions I
receive and finish up the CAD manager's action plan for 2005. Until
then.

AutoCAD Tips!

In her easy-to-follow, friendly style, long-time Cadalyst contributing editor and Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen guides you through a new feature or time-saving trick in every episode of her popular AutoCAD video tips. Subscribe to the free Cadalyst Video Picks newsletter and we'll notify you every time a new video tip is published. All exclusively from Cadalyst!